Hurricane Helene recovery will be costly, but Governor Lee isn’t interested in using voucher money to fund it

Governor Bill Lee (Photo by the Governor Lee)

When Tennessee Governor Bill Lee unveiled the details of the $100 million Helene Emergency Assistance Loans (HEAL) Program in a press conference Thursday afternoon, a reporter asked whether he might be willing to dip into the unused funding for one of his key education priorities to help fund disaster recovery efforts.

Earlier this year lawmakers approved $144 million for the Governor’s Education Freedom Scholarship plan, sometimes referred to as vouchers, to allow families across the state to use taxpayer dollars to send their children to private school.  The plan itself failed to advance out of committee but the money would be usable in the future, if it eventually passes.

Governor Lee did not seem interested in redirecting that money to recovery efforts from the flooding caused by Hurricane Helene.

Governor Bill Lee (right) unveiling the HEAL program in a press conference (Screenshot)

“We have resources, we have an economy, we have the ability to invest in the things, infrastructure and education both. We don’t have to choose one or the other,” said Governor Lee.

Others have questioned whether the state will have the money for the Governor’s vouchers plan and other needs like the recovery from Hurricane Helene.

Representative Mark White, R-Memphis, was among the biggest champions of the Governor’s voucher plan earlier this year, and he told Chalkbeat Tennessee the state should reevaluate its priorities.

“Our first priority now has got to be taking care of our neighbors in East Tennessee and helping them recover from this storm damage,” said White to Chalkbeat.

“Can we do universal vouchers, too? I don’t know,” he continued. “But East Tennessee has got to be our top focus.”

HEAL funding coming from TennCare

Funding for the Governor’s HEAL program will come Medicaid dollars in the state’s TennCare Shared Savings program that’s targeted for health and well-being.

HEAL will provide Carter, Claiborne, Cocke, Grainger, Greene, Hamblen, Hawkins, Jefferson, Johnson, Sevier, Sullivan, Unicoi and Washington counties with $65 million in loans to remove dangerous debris and $35 million for water restoration and recovery efforts.

The Governor said this funding is meant to bridge the gap until federal recovery dollars are available to impacted communities.

 “Hurricane Helene was an unprecedented disaster for Tennessee, and many local communities don’t have the resources to recover on their own,” said Gov. Lee. “Federal dollars will be available later, but these communities need immediate relief. Tennessee’s record of fiscal conservatism has placed us in a strong financial position to make government work for the people and step up to help in this time of need.”